Rain continues across Oklahoma

May 05, 2009 05:32 pm

— OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Thunderstorms that plodded across Oklahoma on Tuesday caused only minor flooding problems, but forecasters worried additional rainfall could spell trouble for waterlogged parts of the state.

Tuesday's storms resulted in about 1 to 2 inches of rain across a large swathe of the state, starting in western Oklahoma and extending to portions of far southeast Oklahoma, said Scott Curl, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Norman.

Several roads were closed due to high water in Caddo County, where officials estimated damage from washed out roads and bridges at about $50,000, said Caddo County Emergency Management Director Larry McDuffey.

"We just can't handle any more rain right now," McDuffey said.

State Highway 8 in Alfalfa County near Aline in northern Oklahoma and State Highway 80 near Hulbert in eastern Oklahoma both were shut down Tuesday due to high water, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported.

Two drowning deaths were reported in eastern Oklahoma over the weekend after several days of heavy rainfall in those areas, including a Pryor woman who drowned after driving her car past barriers on a flooded Mayes County roadway and a Broken Bow man who drowned after crashing his vehicle into the Glover River in McCurtain County.

Curl said additional problems could develop with more rain forecast for the next few days.

"It's not going to take much of a storm right now to cause some additional problems," he said.

A chance for rain will continue Tuesday night for much of southern Oklahoma, with dry conditions beginning Wednesday and continuing through Thursday. Another front is expected to move into northern Oklahoma Thursday evening, with a chance for rain across much of the state Friday and Friday night, with a chance for more rainfall over the weekend.

"Perhaps we could get a dry period developing early next week," Curl said. "At least through the weekend, we're going to continue to have a good chance for some rainfall."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.